Will Holland, Michelin starred former Chef Patron from La Becasse, Ludlow quoted that our Longhorn beef was ‘…out of this world’ and ‘the best beef I’ve ever tasted.’

"Just to say what a wonderful Christmas meal we had, all thanks to Great Berwick! 'Absolutely delicious' and 'best beef ever tasted' comments went all round. The woolcool packaging was amazing, even the ice packs were still frozen. End result, quite superb"

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"We had three centre cuts of fillet for Christmas and I just wanted to say the meat was superb. All our guests commented on how good it was, both flavour and texture. Thank you!"

BBC GOOD FOOD recommended buying our Longhorn Beef on line in November 2015 Christmas edition of Good Food Magazine.

"May I just say how absolutely delicious our sirloin roast was this Christmas. It was without a doubt the best piece of beef we have ever eaten. Thank you so much for making our meal so special."

"Another fantastic Christmas lunch courtesy of your fantastic forerib, our fourth year in a row (possibly the best yet), so its a new family tradition! Steak & Stilton pies on Boxing Day and another joint for New Year. It wouldn't feel like Christmas without you!"

You may have gathered we are foodies! I scour the web looking for the best products available, but only after I have made extensive research. My fiercest critics are my two young sons who have been brought up (spoilt) on eating quality produce. They both gave you a straight ten which is quite remarkable! I'm sure I will be placing further orders with you...and I wish you every success.

"Just a line to thank you for your excellent longhorn beef you sent us a little while ago. We had one of the foreribs on Christmas Day and it was superb. Succulent, lovely texture and full of flavour (and I thought surprisingly lean for a rare breed). All in all a terrific joint and enjoyed by all. At the other end of the scale we have consumed several of the mince packs. Again, excellent quality and flavour. Thank you!"

"Just to thank you for the superb piece of beef we had for our lunch party yesterday and for your excellent service. We will most certainly be ordering again and have already passed on recommendations."

"We had Sirloin on the Bone for dinner, it was absolutely delicious. Full marks! Thank you for a joint to remember."

"I had fillet last night and it was fantastic, beautiful and no knife required! There is somewhere in England with good steak after all. It is a rare thing for people to live up to their promise."

"You've saved a turkey!! You gave us good advice re cooking which we stuck to rigidly and took the meat from the oven at 55/60 C. It was just the most marvelous meat, tender, succulent and tasty".

"I bought some ribeye steaks from your stall at Ludlow Food Festival and barbequed them for my birthday supper! What a treat. One of the best steaks I have ever tasted!"

From a vegetarian "Just to say thank you for your patience the other day, much appreciated. I followed your instructions to the letter and I am told the beef was absolutely delicious and tender. It certainly smelt great as it cooked. I shall definitely buy from you again."

About Us

The Barker Family have been farming at Great Berwick since 1949, when after a short career as an Officer in the Royal Horseguards, John Barker (Sam's Grandfather) was granted the tenancy on the Berwick Estate. The son of a timber merchant and as a first generation farmer he set out to breed pigs and milk friesian cows.

Alongside his son, Stephen, they developed the dairy herd into one of the most successful and highest yielding in the country. When John's grandson, Sam, graduated from Seale Hayne Agricultural College he returned to the farm and at about the same time Great Berwick underwent the conversion to being organic. The cows produced organic milk up until 2004, but the attitudes of the supermarkets and the price they were prepared to pay played a big part in Stephen and Sam's decision to sell the herd.

Having livestock on the farm was, however, a crutial element in the organic crop rotation (see below) and Sam made it his mission to establish a herd of suckler beef cows which would produce the very best beef in the UK.

He spoke to Butchers across the country and very quickly it was clear that the English Longhorn was the most sought after of all the breeds for meat quality, flavour and tenderness. The decision was made! Then, by shear coincidence, Heston Blumenthal, in his 'Search for the Perfect Steak', also chose Longhorn as the winner over all the other traditional beef breeds. This was great timing!

We now have 80 cows in the main breeding herd, so with all the calves, yearlings and our three Bulls we have 235 head of cattle on the farm.

The Longhorns play a harmonious role in our organic cereal production. The cows eat the clover rich grass and at the same time the clover is working wonders under the surface by locking in the naturally occuring nitrogen. This in turn helps to produce better crop yields. Then the manure produced by the cows adds essential organic matter and nutrients to the soil structure. As Organic Farmers (regulated by Organic Farmers & Growers) we don't use any chemicals or artifcial chemicals. Instead we harness and work with nature.

We are also in the Higher Level Stewardship Scheme which has resulted in field headlands full of flora and fauna and a whole farm habitat that Charles Darwin would have been proud of!

Our other green credentials are that all the hot water for washing down in the cutting room is generated by a log boiler and our day time electricity is produced by a 50kw solar panal array. We're self sufficient too as far as feed is concerned, with the cattle eating home grown grass, clover and lucerne (either grazed or conserved in the form of hay, silage or haylage.